CBSE to restore single board exam next year

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to restore the pre-pandemic single-exam format from the next academic year, which means the Class X and XII board exams are not likely to be split into two parts, according to sources in the Ministry of Education.

For the 2021-22 academic year, the CBSE had introduced a bifurcated format with two terms: the Term-I board exams were held in November-December last year, while the Term-II exams are scheduled to start on April 26. It is learnt that more weightage will be given to the Term-II exams.

The decision was taken after the board exams for the 2020-21 academic year had to be cancelled due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Students were evaluated on their scores in previous exams, practical exams and internal assessments.

However, in terms of syllabus rationalisation, CBSE will stick to the policy it followed over the last two years when syllabus was reduced by 30 per cent. "The NCERT will send us the details of rationalisation based on which an announcement will be made. Schools can teach the reduced syllabus using the existing books," said the official.

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 proposes that all students be allowed to take the board exams on up to two occasions in an academic year — "one main examination and one for improvement" to "eliminate the high stakes aspect of board exams".

There are 26,152 CBSE-affiliated schools across the country.